Is Philosophy Useful for Law
“5 Reasons Why Philosophy Majors Make Great Entrepreneurs” Entrepreneurs. “When accomplished entrepreneurs like Reid Hoffman, Peter Thiel and Carly Fiorina blame their philosophical journey for their success, you have to ask yourself if they`re willing to do something.” The Law & Philosophy workshop exposes students to innovative work in “general jurisprudence,” the part of legal philosophy that deals with the central questions of the nature of law, the relationship between law and morality, and the nature of legal thought. According to national law, philosophy majors are admitted to law school at a higher percentage than any other major. “The myth of management” The Atlantic. “If you want to succeed in business, don`t get an MBA study philosophy instead.” “The Earning Power of Philosophy Majors” The Atlantic. “We often hear that employers value creative problem-solving and the ability to deal with ambiguity in their new hires, and I can`t think of any other major that would better prepare you for these skills than studying philosophy.” “I think that`s why I deserve,” The Guardian. “A degree in philosophy has trained the individual`s brain, giving them the ability to provide management consulting firms with the kind of skills they need and clients demand. These skills may include the ability to be highly analytical, provide clear and innovative thinking, and challenge assumptions. “The Faculty of Law offers an extremely broad and profound program of interdisciplinary study in law and philosophy, with attention to both the most important historical figures and contemporary issues.
Whether you come to law school with a bachelor`s or master`s degree in philosophy, or simply with an interest in philosophical issues without significant formal training in the field, you will find a wide range of opportunities to pursue these interests and develop your knowledge during your three years in law school. The Faculty of Law particularly welcomes students with philosophical interests who may be interested in careers in law and jurisprudence; The law school has long been one of the leading producers of new law professors in the United States. David Hills, a philosopher at Stanford, said philosophy is “the clumsy attempt to address issues that are natural to children, using methods that are natural to lawyers.” Children don`t usually ask themselves what the difference is between legal and moral obligation or between justification and excuse in criminal law, but lawyers and law students do! And here the methods of philosophers – so familiar to jurists – come naturally and will undoubtedly continue to do so wherever law is taught. UMSL students who wish to prepare for law school and a career in law should consider a philosophy major. There are two main reasons for this. First, the study of philosophy provides students with training in analytical thinking and logical reasoning, both of which are essential for success in law school and in legal practice. Second, a philosophy major also allows students to examine many current moral, political, and legal issues of interest to lawyers, judges, and jurists while understanding the philosophical context of these issues. Let`s take a closer look at these reasons. “Top students commit to using their knowledge” USA Today. “I honestly believe that philosophy prepared me better for a career in public service than any other major.” Most of the work you will do as a philosophy major involves reading, analyzing, and presenting written summaries and critiques of arguments. These are exactly the skills you will use the most as a law student and later as a lawyer. And law schools know it.
Consider the following excerpt from the American Bar Association`s Council of Legal Education and Opportunity: “In a new generation of students, many are opting for the studied life,” according to the New York Times. “When you study humanities, political systems or science in general, philosophy is really the mothership from which all these disciplines develop.” Even taking into account this very real difference between legal and philosophical argument, the affinity is quite clear, so much so that American legal education derives its most famous pedagogical approach (“the Socratic method”) from philosophy. Law professors question students, just as Socrates asked the citizens of Athens about the nature of knowledge and justice. The method is intended to illustrate and teach the kind of dialectical skill that the lawyer needs as a discursive discipline. “A philosophy degree deserves more than a degree in accounting” Yahoo! Finance. “[Logic] is exactly what philosophy programs require of students. Thinking is hard, it requires analysis, and those who are good at it can get a good job. Mr. Green, Mr. Leiter, Ms. Nussbaum, Mr.
Strauss and Mr. Sunstein regularly offer seminars on topics of interest to law and philosophy students. Current topics are “constitutional theory and interpretation”; “Constitutionalism and democracy”; “Pedagogy and moral psychology”; “Equality as a political value”; “Feminist philosophy”; “Legal reasoning”; “Legality and rule of law”; “The Letters of Cicero and Seneca”; “Methodology in jurisprudence”; “Mill”; “Nietzsche and Foucault: morality, self and society”; “Political commitment and civil disobedience”; “Rawls and his critics”; “Religion and State”; and “Tolerance: Your Justification and Your Limitations”. Of all pre-law majors, philosophy majors have the highest average score on LSAT (related to economics majors). Here are the average LSAT scores for the 12 largest disciplines, with at least 1,900 law students: Philosophy is, of course, the discursive discipline par excellence. The English philosopher John Campbell (who now teaches at Berkeley) described philosophy as “thinking in slow motion.” Legal practice, especially during an appellate court hearing, is often “fast-tracked thinking,” but the crucial fact is that both disciplines deal with rational and logical thinking. Legal practice generally requires more attention to rhetoric than philosophy, at least since the time of the Sophists in the 5th century BC. But the pejorative connotation of “sophistry” conveyed to us by Plato`s successful defamation of sophistic philosophers should not mislead us: there is an art to be convinced, and this art is only partially exhausted by the rules of formal and informal logic. According to the United States Supreme Court in Old Chief v. U.s..
(1997), “A syllogism is not a story, and a bare proposition in a courtroom cannot match the solid evidence that would be used to prove it.” “The methods of analytic philosophy and legal reasoning, the careful distinction and definitions, the determination of logical coherence by constructing and examining hypothetical cases, introducing hypotheses buried on the surface, breaking down a problem into manageable components, meticulously exploring the implications of an opponent`s arguments are essentially the same.” (Overcoming Law, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995, p. 9) In addition, philosophy also allows you to explore topics and questions that may be relevant to your future law school or career as a lawyer. For example, people interested in working in environmental law can benefit from a course in environmental ethics. If you are interested in legal issues arising from developments in medicine and technology, you can study bioethics or philosophy of science. Individuals interested in working in corporate law may find a relevant business ethics course. Issues of criminal responsibility are addressed in the philosophy of mind and in our course on the philosophical foundations of criminal justice. Questions of proof and justification are discussed in epistemology. We also offer relevant courses in logic, ethical theory, political theory and, of course, philosophy of law. According to the Law School Admissions Council on LSAT scores over the past few decades, philosophy majors have the highest or nearly highest average scores on the annual LSAT. For example, the following table for the 2007-2008 exams shows that philosophy majors scored the highest average LSAT scores among the twelve most popular pre-law majors associated with economics. Consider the following excerpt from the American Bar Association`s Council of Legal Education and Opportunity (full publication PDF 108KB) When assessing a potential law student`s educational qualifications, admissions committees typically consider the program chosen, the grades obtained, and the reputation of the colleges attended. Good grades in courses such as logic, philosophy, and abstract mathematics are generally considered a plus.
Law schools will respect your search for topics you find difficult. This is especially true if the courses you take are known to be more challenging, such as philosophy, engineering, and science. Also look for courses that build the skills you need in law school. Courses that emphasize research and writing are excellent preparation for law school, as are courses that teach reasoning and analytical skills. The analytical skills you learn in philosophy courses are useful for legal analysis. As U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner put it, “Where are the smart kids,” according to the New York Times. “Even in the 21st century, intelligence is important for lawyers, doctors, problem solvers in all fields, as well as for a good life.